I love the honesty. So many bad products out there. All the reviewers glaze over the negative aspects of the products. You seem honest and this video is proof.
well, at least he is sharing his honest experience, he was not impressed but I am sure there are people who are listening to them right now and are liking them
I really agree with your comment because I have these and while I think my own experience matches Kevin's review perfectly, the only difference for me is that I actually like them. I don't hear anything he doesn't, I even agree with him that these don't do any one thing particularly well, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, but they do most things well enough, and I just don't have anything else like that among my many vintage speakers. I feel exactly the same as Kevin does about how they sound. If I had a pair of KEF LS50s or LS3-5As like he does, I probably wouldn't have any use for these either. But since I didn't have anything like these before, I'm really glad I got a pair.
I am one of those people, but I am not really an audiophile, can't afford to be. That said, they are not great with all recordings. Another thing, I have seen a lot of balanced reviews of this speaker. Most of them actually have some negatives as well as positives to say about them.
@@E_Dtl I think if you pay attention to sound quality at all, it's fair to call yourself an audiophile if you wish. I suppose if we wanted to say the Elac Debut 2.0 does anything particularly well, we could say it doesn't mess anything up, and it's balanced, and it's relatively neutral for such a low cost speaker, and it is pretty low distortion for such a low cost speaker. I do think it's really a pretty good speaker. But it's a budget speaker. It's a lot like much costlier speakers in that it has low distortion and the same kind of EQ, which is interesting because EQ is the one thing that is rarely as flat as this is in such an inexpensive speaker. I think the EQ for this is why so many people think it's a great speaker. That is the one thing you used to have to spend a lot of money to get - not because it's so hard to do, but because no one thought putting such a neutral "audiophile" EQ in a low cost speaker made sense. What I don't like about these is hardly a criticism. They don't have very low bass. But nothing this size is ever going to have very low bass! (there are $11,000 exceptions of course) For the price of new speakers, I think these are pretty hard to beat. That being said, in the USA we have access to Polk Audio speakers which are nowhere near as neutral and higher distortion, but for the price VERY enjoyable and an excellent value for people who listen largely to contemporary popular music. I would probably be satisfied with sub-$500 Polk Audio mid-sized towers for myself except that I listen to classical, jazz and a wide array of recordings from the last 90 years that the mainstream Polk Audio speakers just aren't designed to be good at. It's the EQ. Most inexpensive speakers have an "EQ du jour" sound that makes them appealing to budget buyers who's primary listening is contemporary popular music. That's what's neat about the Elac Debut 2.0 - they are "audiophile hobbyist EQ," and that makes them unique at their price point.
@@AndyBHome thanks for the comment, read it with great interest. When I say that I am not and audiophile, it's mainly because of the economics, but also just because I like to enjoy the music, without any thougt of science and engineering But back to the speakers, I use them with a subwoofer, in 2. 1 and in 5.1.2 atmos. When I enjoy them most, is when hearing recordings with details. When it's raw rock power, I miss something. In the future, they will probably serve as satellites.
@@E_Dtl yes it's so true to me what you say about their strength! On a really good detailed recording they're great. But for something like rock with percussion they just don't "bring it" the way so many others would. That's something I was almost trying to say but couldn't quite grasp. What an excellent observation!
Many thank's!👍 I now why I've only have vintage speaker's from the 70th and 80th in my room. Like your channel so much. Abo...Have a happy new year🍻 Cheers
great channel mate, just saying it like you see/hear it!, can you recommend old or new speakers to go with my yamaha dsp a2, which i've decided to get repaired, floorstanders preferred but not too bass heavy, for mostly metal, rock'n'roll etc, any help appreciated. currently have tannoy p30 & tannoy p10 speakers.
I've seen that Rega has recently come out with a new amplifier made in england for 370 pounds, do you think you could get your hands on one for a comparison with vintage stuff?
No One will ever send you any speakers or other audio equipment cos you are telling the truth .. Kelvin my humble request to you is “ please review the way you are reviewing since last year “ We have been caught up in Hype, created by those North American reviewers, bought something and turns out nothing but garbage. Yes you are spot on no one will buy £2000 amplifier for under £500 speakers that’s reality. Your review means a lot for us at least for those people like me. All I can offer you is a “ Big Thank You 🙏 “ Happy New Year !! Kelvin
I had the MA Bronze 2 before I bought these which were quite bright and harsh and it got worse the harder you drove them but now I've just bought the Debut 6.2 and for my desktop near field listening I find them to be a good improvement. The base is tighter and less boomy, the high end is not as bright and is smoother overall more balanced for my listening situation. Oh and I removed the tweeter grills and it helped quite a lot for me. I'm sorry you didn't like them! Thanks for your honest review :)
i just got some Monitor Audio R352 a few months ago they seem good to me certainly lots of base i paid 50£ so happy there as well i will have to do a bit of tidying up on them but will enjoy that as well thanks to this channel i have rediscover the hobby and brought myself a lot of pleasure on a very tight budget.
I've got a pair of these with a Marantz PM6007 amp, and a Cambridge Audio CXN network streamer. Couldn't be more pleased with the sound. It's all about how things work together, and what sort of sound you like. This guy clearly prefers the vintage sound it would seem to me, and it is cosy and entertaining, but these aren't the vintage sound, but they give me goosebumps with my current set up. They sound pretty dull with my cheaper amp. You have to pair carefully with them.
was looking at these elac’s after what hifi etc saying they were the best for the money. struggling to find a good vintage speaker. i got offered jbl tlx60 for 100 quid. asthetics not as nice as the elacs or dali spektor 2. any other recomendations?
I did fall för the hype of Triangle Borea BR03. After 100 hrs of breakin they sound really nice. A hump in the mid bass give them a slight warmth. Very nice mids and forward sounding uppers. Can be reveailing of bad recordings. Needs amp with good dampening factor in order to control the generous bass. Did not pair well with Rega Brio. Got blooted in the mid bass and lost bass control on higher volyms. I pair them with a Arcam fmj38. Triangle Borea BR03 seems to do what the amp tells them to do. Maybe thats why many reviewers recomend rather neutral amps. Like Iotavx SA3.
I have the Elac Debut 6.2 's and I can confirm that they are a bit power hungry . I have mine connected to an Adcom GFA-555 (200 wpc) and they don't start to come "alive" until the volume knob hits the ten o'clock position . But all in all I consider these to be the best value speakers on the market and a home run for ELAC .
Ported speakers in my experience nearly always have that uneven bass response, you speak of. Do you think this is a speaker tuned to run on over bright /harsh lower end equipment?
Well I wish I knew my guess is that it was just designed on the computer and on that metric it looked good I don’t know it’s a mystery to me how the speakers are rated well
I've got the Elacs. I do like them, and disagree with a lot of what you said. This is where it is important to listen to a speaker before you buy it. We're all going to enjoy something a little different. Audition your speakers before you buy them. Go buy what you're going to enjoy. There are a lot of speakers in the same price range with different voicing.
Hello Kelvin, I've recently got into vintage systems and have bought a pioneer sx 690. I also bought a pair of pioneer CS-353 speakers to go with it, however, they don't have a great sound on their own, they are very tinny with not a lot of warmth etc? I also have a pair of wharfedale Atlantic speakers which sound great and with all 4 speakers running it sounds really nice. What speakers, from the same era as the pioneer receiver would you recommend I use? I really love your videos and your descriptions etc are fantastic! Thanks Anton
Yes in general a lot of Japanese speakers weren’t very good. I generally think British for speakers . And with that pioneer which has a big sound I just think you want big speakers big old Wharfdale Glendale big old Goodmans magnum ..celestion 44 It’s hard to detail this because a lot of vintage speakers weren’t that good don’t go into the mid60s they’re too old. B and w dm3 maybe of Kefs like 104 ab. Or concerto (v big )
Ok thanks! I've been researching Celestion ditton 33 which I'm hearing good things about. The ditton 44 might be bit too big I think? What do you think? Thanks Anton
Impressive review... I own these Elac debut 6.2 and was impressed on the sound stage quality... I know Andrew Jones history in speakers designs as he worked for numerous high end companies in the past and now with Elac numerous years now... These speakers were at the CES show several years back and really blown away a lot of people during its demonstration in Elac's booth room... I was lucky to get them at half price sale a few years ago... I heard many other bookshelf speakers 2 times it's price of these but these got my attention... I'm a sound engineer and know good sounds when I hear them...
Calvin expresses his personal views on these speaker which is great as not everyone has the same hearing. I have had mine since 2018 as I said before paid half of the retail price Best Buy was offering for a limited time for $150 a pair. They went fast in all stores here and I was lucky to get a pair. I love how the vocals sounds so natural and smooth and less fatigue on the ears when listening for hours. Nice highs and mids and bass not bad but when tuned in with a nice sub the sound comes alive.
I have the Elac B5 debut and after seeing all the pos reviews I thought I was going deaf as they just weren't doing it for me. I've gone back to using my Kef coda 7's with sansui AU-D101. Quite a good match for me.
So basically the Elac Debut are a good pair of speakers to compare against studio monitors and not Hi-Fi speakers? Sounds like a good choice for me. That's the kind of speakers I'm looking for to play around with passive speakers. I kind of expected it from how the Elac looks like considering they're front ported. The kind that you want for nearfield and not listening to them far back in the room. I'm currently using Adam A7X. I also do recording and mixing stuff, so hi-fi audiophiles won't do it for me.
Have you had a chance to hear some Linn speakers? I prefer vintage speakers too but I heard Linn Majik 109 bookshelf speakers recently and they sounded very good, would be interested to hear your opinion!
The Linn Majik 109 are very well regarded across hi fi forums. However at the time of writing they are £950 in the UK ,I would love a pair. The Elac Debut 6.2 are £299 The cheap audio man channel, a self confessed Elac fan rates the Debut 5.2 over them ( better balance They retail at £279 however a few main Uk dealers are selling them for £209. Much more affordable to pair with budget amps . Theres an A / B sound comparison on here between Q Acoustic 3030i & Debut . The Elac sounds much less compressed & natural to my ears 👍
Kelvin,I don't doubt about your honesty when it comes to reviews that's why I subscribed your channel.Not sure somebody that buys speakers of this price is going to spend 2-3 time more on an amp because it goes beyond the common sense that speaker is the most important component in the setup. And it's out of this world the likelihood to be paired with amps that cost 2-3k A. AJones should have designed these speakers with the idea of shinning even when paired with cheap amps or receivers that is the most probable scenario in the real world these speakers will be setup.I have never had a personal experience with these Elacs but this puppies have been raved a lot by many reviews which is a bit baffling for me. The cabinet looks to me well braced and solid and the new livery is eye catchy. . AJones designed it polite in the low octave , play it safe in the mid register and measured with the highs or jack of all trades and master of none.
I really understand. Couple of months during lock down, I took four MA R352 last manufactor run (I think) with the new metal tweeter, from my basement, that I had in store for 20 years. I put them to test against my modern speakers, connected them in quad stereo, and I can't go back, I love them. I forgot wow good they are, I don't think they are brilliant, there are much better speakers, but I just love the sound, can't explain.
I haven't heard these myself yet... other reviews are more favorable but are also noting them to be very "choice of amp" dependent to bring out the best in them. I think they lean more towards a studio monitor which can seem a bit "dry" or clinical (AKA detailed) as they lack the intentional sweetness built into many commercial offerings. I suspect they are a very temperamental speaker in terms of squeezing some magic out of them. Hope to hear them soon and know first hand.
Wow, great review. I watched a lot of reviews a couple of years ago and bought into the hype. After comparing to my vintage Boston Acoustics and JBL speakers. I returned them and wondered what the reviewers were hearing. Selling new speakers pays the bills I guess.
Yes you literally find yourself thinking am I Speaker is broken what’s going on what are these people talking about? They’re talking about making money really, I guess
hi Kelvin, ever reviewed Heybrook HB2 speakers? i have used these for 40 years and still sound good to me, i have owned many other makes (Linn , Castle, MA, B&W) but still like my Heybrooks. would like to experiment with some different ones as they wont last forever, tried modern speakers been disappointed.
I bought these speakers after seeing a lot of positive reviews and have heard to these for the last 1 month. Wow this is the most accurate review of these speakers which in my opinion is a very poor sounding speaker. I am really surprised with the great reviews of these the Internet is filled with. Great job Kelvin for a bold and very accurate review.
Hi Kelvin, I really enjoy your reviews, the way you deliver your thoughts and your Mathmos lava bottles collection. I am too a vintage gear fan but I believe we should be honest with its limitations. My main speakers are JBL 4311b that deliver a lot of presence and enthousiasm with precision (pro monitors) but throw everything in your face. Moreover, the cabinet build quality improved a lot when you compare 70’s low density fiber to modern mdf with bracings. I bought these Elacs 2nd hand for my 8 years old son to offer him some decent vinyle experience in his bedroom. I have to admit they perfectly do the job paired with a Denon PMA-1500R integrated amp and a fairly audiophile tweaked Technics 1210 MK2. Like you said, they sound OK in every register and whole presentation but nothing is dull or boring nor excellent. Every 40 years old 7’´ or brand new LP my son plays is satisfaying and detailled, not lacking a bass note and never harsh sounding. Of course the amp was 1000 pounds or so at its launch but now can be had for the same price as the speakers. I won’t recommend them for a grown man whose ears, sound tastes are well established and looks for a thrill but definitely for a young man starting to think about his audio journey. I hope the things above make some sense as english is not my first language. Keep doing your great job ! Best regards, Marc - France
I’ve had a pair of these for almost 3 years. After extensive listening with several very good vintage amps (Pioneer exclusive M4 class A, Accuphase E-303, etc...) I think Kelvin has given a fair review from a music lover perspective. These are ok with music. They aren’t terrible on anything, but also not great. I too bored of them and preferred any of my vintage speakers for music. I think that someone that didn’t have a great speaker to compare with would probably be satisfied. My “problem” is having other great speakers that expose the Elac lack of greatness. In my opinion, they are better suited for a LR with equal duty for music and movies.
Well I have to go to songs that are use a lot and they are take it easy by the Eagles mostly for the human voice and bass characteristics And also to high by Stevie Wonder for just multiple reasons it has a good spectrum of separation and instruments
Kelvin, another enjoyable and very informative review. I applaud you for it. I do however share others concern that your being “too” honest will result in being starved of product to review. Your channel is such a contrast to the usual fawning over the latest “new and different” releases from gushing content providers. Do hope you are able to navigate the supply issues and continue to provide a genuine perspective on new versus old.
new subber here after watching many of your videos recently. around 1985 I bought a pair of Wharfedale Denton 2XP from my mates dad, they sounded fantastic to a 15 year old me, sadly one of the tweeters was knackered, the speakers were well built with proper crossover inside with plenty of wadding. Do you ever take speakers apart to look at the insides? many of the woofer drivers now have plastic chassis, I dont often listen to hifi now but I have a technics amp and a pair of eltax floorstanders the ones with two woofers in.
Love the content I have a pair of these 6.2s they decent but no WOW factor but hook up to a decent amp they sound ok can't complaint 1/2 price off I'm good🤙🤙
My pair doesn't have the nice wood finish like yours but I only paid 150 bucks for them. Very happy with the sound and I use a sub with them sometimes. Not a big room and I listen to them near field.
Are early polk monitors available in the UK? They practically give them away here in the US (sometimes literally). They can be easily be had for under $100 USD. They sound fantastic, particularly the monitor 7 and 5 Jr. (the iterations with the peerless tweets). You should pick some up for a listen if you find them cheap.
Listening to this review on a pair of akai SW-157ii speakers from 1978. Picked them up for a song here in the states and know I'd have to pay quite a bit more for anything comparable new.
These are something I might try if got for cheap enough. They don't make bigish front ported bookshelf's as much anymore. I'm actually battling my JBL N28 vs JBL N28II right now. A new speaker you might try is the Sony SS-C55. I see em on amazon for like 80 AmericanBucks and they're very unusually well built. They work fine on a regualarish amp even though their 6oms. I've been itching to set them up and listen. I got to admit though, all the 80's speakers I've picked up from thrift stores have a certain fun that has never been matched in muh new school speakers.
Well multiple I think I said that in the video five different apps at least Quad elite 140 what’s name nap power amp 50 W per channel Sansui vintage amps are calm alpha
Had an orphaned vintage NHT VS-2a center speaker after selling off other HT components. Bought someone else's orphaned VS-2a and stood both on end on stands for a stereo pair every bit as delightful as the VT-2 towers minus the bass...added a sub. Bliss. Most of the early NHT towers had sats/centers that were essentially the top half of the tower in order to match. The SAME but without the woofer in the lower cabinet. Superone is top of Supertwo, VT-1C is the VT-1 etc. Great bargains on orphaned vintage NHT centers now. I have no desire whatever to go for something modern! Would recommend the ones with butyl rubber surrounds to be safe, which I believe most are except maybe the Superones.
I wish I knew what your source material was. What amplifier, turntable etc. I have these and enjoy them quite a bit but I know they are a little power hungry. I did get them for under $200 US, so there’s that.
once you try something better you would easily understand what he is talking about. But on a budget, it's not easy to build a whole system that can reveal the limits of the one cheap component.
Thanks, sir! As I know, that Elac Debut is popular as a kit, because they have a very poor filter and the box, so people have to upgrade it and they can play in a upper level.
I have two pairs of these and they don't like my Parasound Zonemaster 2350 which is an ICE Power Class D amp. Huge fallout of the midrange. I had Andrew's Pioneers and they were also dull. I need to hookup my equalizer to the 2350. Yes, they lack a lot of "Life".
Elac DB62 is a bit picky in term of amp slection. Although rated 87 dB/6 Ohm, it is quite a bit power hungry. Not until I pair it with Parasound NC 2125 150 watts, 45 amp high current power amp, it finally comes alive. The other more gentle Cambridge 851N Integrated amp got a similar wattage but was not able to rock Elac. I recalled the other well-received reviewer iiwi said the similar thing.
I had MA Silver RX-1s that did vocals really well, piano overtones really well but were too laid back, had a muddy mid bass hump and were not suitable for Rock. Some things well, some things not. But voices were nice. Triangle Color series decent with voice tone but a bit sibilant at times. AMT tweeters give a different, live sound at times but there are issues with some of those speakers as well. Most budget just don't cut it or give anything much above AV/home theater quality but a few do give you a taste of something done nice but not everything with something usually standing out in a negative way. I've tried lots to replace my large Focals 807Ws (do alot very well) under a grand$US but if I want something at least as good or better I may have to spend alot more for something in a smaller box.
The old 6.0 had stonking bass. It was toned down. The old 6.0 was a bit weak in treble. It was raised. So the 6.2 speaker is better balanced, and if you can make it sound good with better amps it can't be inherently bad, and what can you get today for €300? But you are absolutely right about the "charm factor". If it doesn't do it for you it just doesn't, period. I just wish all reviewers were as open and honest as you are. :-) Have a great year and thumbs up! :-) Cheers!
I appreciate your honesty in your video however, I have to say, I do like the sound of the debut 5.2 speaker when it is teamed up with a sub. I agree that if you run the speaker without a sub, the base response is lacking.
Nice review Kelvin. Yeahh..if you can find that Monitor Audio R252 in good condition, or similar speaker... Because it's years years ago. Let's hear something,at least it's something. Better than only words😀..
I just purchased these front ported speakers mainly so I wouldn't hear the boom boom canon sound associated with the bass reflex speakers I use to enjoy as a younger person. And at low to mid volume, these speakers won't rattle the wall as to disturb my neighbors. Matted to my Yamaha RX-496 receiver and CDC-675, the far off axis sound to my study room is perfect for background listening. And what better way to confirm this by first listening to Sade's greatest hits.✔
I subscribe to several audio related reviewers on TH-cam. With few exceptions each new piece of equipment seems to be light-years ahead of the previous one, and you will have to spend double or triple the money to get anything close. I agree that buying quality vintage loudspeakers is a better option, and you won’t lose 30% or more trying to unload the “next best thing”.
Hi Kelvin as always a really interesting video. Thanks for that. I would be willing to bet that those Elacs measure incredibly well. So I wonder why they dont sound so good. Maybe measurements are not the be all and end all.....ps... the reviews are mostly marketing..
I have had B&W, Jamo, Focal and Epos bookshelf speakers. Most had their qualities. I’ve now got a pair of Quadral Aurum Galans speakers. They are from Germany and are in a different league. They were about £2000, so not cheap but I’d be so interested in hearing what you think. You could borrow them if you like. The reason I offer is that according to youtube and certain magazines there’s only a small handful of speakers out there. This is so wrong. They are just the ones getting hyped. Cheers
Great review Kelvin. I've watched your channel get better and better this year. Keep telling it like it is. Keep referencing the same well known songs because we can all relate those to our systems. Keep up the good work. All the best for 2021.
Seems like an honest review. I have these Elac 2.0 speakers and they have some issues. However if you upgrade them with a kit from GR Research they become a wonderful set of speakers.
Oh yeah I saw that episode Interesting to hear from a consumer that it worked out good . Did you remove the metal grill from the tweeter and do you remember that being a significant thing let me know if you can 😊 thanks K
@@alexfalcao $350 that’s a lot that’s the same price as the speakers yeah now I don’t know what is in the upgrade but surely you could do internal damping quite cheaply and also taking the metal cover off the tweeter .maybe Robert Pollak can enlighten us
@@stereoreviewx Yes, I will remove the tweeter grill to see how it will sound. And I'm glad I bought the Fluance SX6 (actually I have 2 pairs), best $150.00 spent, they sound really good for the price and I feel that Vintage sound on them.
I think you might mean the ones that richer sounds sold after the real company Gail went bankrupt I don’t know them but I can only guess and I would guess not good PS it’s a guess cheers K
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I mean those. I was quite impressed when I heard those little monitors 3010 Series 30 I guess. But it was long time ago, perhaps they are just nothing extraordinary.
I just love when the base is stiff and rigid and kind of woody in spite of they are not so low and exact or perfect. That is how these Gales perform. Very rich midrange, poorer details, but that rigid base and superb midrange just do it. I hate boomy, airy base, and prefer closed, non ported cabinets.
Great review! I have them and also a pair of Paradigm Premier 200B and Dali Spektor 2. They are organized in order of joy. ELACs sounds like a "serious" Floorstanding speaker, due their great bass response. Not plenty of emotion, but really honest, for me. Paradigm cost 3 times more than ELAC´s and sound more refined on the highs, but do not have the great bass of the ELACs. And the Spektor 2 was "love at the first hearing". I do not have reasons to dismiss the ELAC. The Piradigm sound great and the Spektor 2 are perfect for a casual listening on a office room or on a small room. I use Sansui amplifiers and honest cables with them
The most important thing is that it makes music fun, whether that's the most accurate and detailed or not. Some speakers are very accurate, detailed, and, in spite of that, they are boring for some reason. But, there are others that may not have as good of a tonal balance or details, but it's just lively and fun to listen to, and that's what matters. I think a lot of it has to do with dynamics, imaging and soundstage. If a less accurate speaker has great dynamics, imaging and soundstaging, it's going to be more fun than one with more accurate tonal response and detail, but has flat and boring dynamics, imaging and soundstaging
Compare the feelings you get in a live venue (specially aucustic) and compare what feelings your soundsystem are able to produce. Frontal loob is more often than not, in the way of Enjoying Art, in most forms.
The MA R252 were my first pair of hi fi speakers 37 years ago. I liked the detail but always found the bass lacking. I always envied my friend who had Kef codas. I'm a bass freak though and now have Focal floorstsanders and a sub. I'm sure I paid about £200 for the R252's new.
Omg you are so wrong. I got a pair Today. These speakers are transparent , have lots of detail and just brings out the recording. Listening to Savannah Sunset and there was that electro beat and a Waters online rendition of Mother sounded very much like a pair of Studio monitors. Amp used was a demon pms 500ae a very poorly rated one with a Yamaha avr ex v657 as a preamp with optical from a google cast streamer (using Spotify). Can’t wait to get my hands on good stereo electronics to bring out more from these wonderful speakers. Other speakers I own are paradigm monitors , klipsch rf 35. Whaferdalle diamonds, axiom audio etc
Another great and honest review! Thank you Kelvin. I also tested these Elacs and they didn't do anything really good - you are so right. I also tested the highly recommended Dali Spector 2 - probably the worst sounding speakers I've ever heard - absolutely terrible! A lot of modern speakers don't sound good or right for me, even when they cost 1500,- Euro a pair. Kelvin, can you say something about the Castle Trent or Trent II? A lot of people here in Germany say that they sound great. I never had the chance to listen to Castles.
Yes well certainly I’ve heard a couple of castles can’t remember which ones but they were good and my overall impression is they are well engineered things. And I don’t think they go for too much money certainly not here in the UK which is good. Watch out for any ones with foam surrounds though you know the phone rots but if there are rubber surrounds then you should be ok. Curiously and after getting some castle speakers myself they seem a little bit of a bargain cheers K
@@stereoreviewx Thanks for the quick response! Yes, that's The same what they say here about the Castle speakers. You are right, foam is always a problem. The Castles Trent 2 I wanted to test (buy) have rubber. Have a great time with music!
@@roquesoprano913 Right out of the box it sounds flat comparing to to the $150.00 SX6 Fluance. And It lacks that hi upper frequency. The fluance I need to set the treble on -6 on the Sansui AU-5500 the Elac I needed to set at +6 to get a more or less the same result. Bu it still braking in, I heard reviewers that said it needs around 20 hours to break in, so far it still on 2 hours of playing, let’s see.
Those are quite special, especially the third series, which I believe came out after 1990. Not the ones with the two front ports which were completely different from the classic HB1s.
I agree 100% with your review. I bought these via mail order at the height of the pandemic without hearing them against my better judgement. I find them lacking. Paired with a receiver of equal quality, I must turn the volume up high to get any meaningful sound. For me, they take away from the music listening experience. It’s time to look for a better sounding bookshelf speaker.
New to this channel, some great reviews .. Ok I'm running for fun, onkyo 9010 cost eBay £120 Rotel cd 7 summat, cost £80 eBay and something new Maurdaunt M20 speakers £75 Amazon, the sound has to be heard to be believed . Class cheap amp class second hand cd player and for my money the awesome M20 .You could throw the kitchen sink through these and they would not give a stuff . I tried them through my audiolab 6000a and the level went up . Great set of speakers on a budget, I recommend them 8/10
Great review Kelvin. I wish a lot of the 'big' well-known audio gear reviewers on YT would be as honest as you. It's very refreshing.
I love the honesty. So many bad products out there. All the reviewers glaze over the negative aspects of the products. You seem honest and this video is proof.
Very informative and credible review...really enjoying this channel
well, at least he is sharing his honest experience, he was not impressed but I am sure there are people who are listening to them right now and are liking them
I really agree with your comment because I have these and while I think my own experience matches Kevin's review perfectly, the only difference for me is that I actually like them. I don't hear anything he doesn't, I even agree with him that these don't do any one thing particularly well, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, but they do most things well enough, and I just don't have anything else like that among my many vintage speakers. I feel exactly the same as Kevin does about how they sound. If I had a pair of KEF LS50s or LS3-5As like he does, I probably wouldn't have any use for these either. But since I didn't have anything like these before, I'm really glad I got a pair.
I am one of those people, but I am not really an audiophile, can't afford to be.
That said, they are not great with all recordings.
Another thing, I have seen a lot of balanced reviews of this speaker. Most of them actually have some negatives as well as positives to say about them.
@@E_Dtl I think if you pay attention to sound quality at all, it's fair to call yourself an audiophile if you wish. I suppose if we wanted to say the Elac Debut 2.0 does anything particularly well, we could say it doesn't mess anything up, and it's balanced, and it's relatively neutral for such a low cost speaker, and it is pretty low distortion for such a low cost speaker. I do think it's really a pretty good speaker. But it's a budget speaker. It's a lot like much costlier speakers in that it has low distortion and the same kind of EQ, which is interesting because EQ is the one thing that is rarely as flat as this is in such an inexpensive speaker. I think the EQ for this is why so many people think it's a great speaker. That is the one thing you used to have to spend a lot of money to get - not because it's so hard to do, but because no one thought putting such a neutral "audiophile" EQ in a low cost speaker made sense.
What I don't like about these is hardly a criticism. They don't have very low bass. But nothing this size is ever going to have very low bass! (there are $11,000 exceptions of course) For the price of new speakers, I think these are pretty hard to beat. That being said, in the USA we have access to Polk Audio speakers which are nowhere near as neutral and higher distortion, but for the price VERY enjoyable and an excellent value for people who listen largely to contemporary popular music. I would probably be satisfied with sub-$500 Polk Audio mid-sized towers for myself except that I listen to classical, jazz and a wide array of recordings from the last 90 years that the mainstream Polk Audio speakers just aren't designed to be good at. It's the EQ. Most inexpensive speakers have an "EQ du jour" sound that makes them appealing to budget buyers who's primary listening is contemporary popular music. That's what's neat about the Elac Debut 2.0 - they are "audiophile hobbyist EQ," and that makes them unique at their price point.
@@AndyBHome thanks for the comment, read it with great interest.
When I say that I am not and audiophile, it's mainly because of the economics, but also just because I like to enjoy the music, without any thougt of science and engineering
But back to the speakers, I use them with a subwoofer, in 2. 1 and in 5.1.2 atmos.
When I enjoy them most, is when hearing recordings with details. When it's raw rock power, I miss something.
In the future, they will probably serve as satellites.
@@E_Dtl yes it's so true to me what you say about their strength! On a really good detailed recording they're great. But for something like rock with percussion they just don't "bring it" the way so many others would. That's something I was almost trying to say but couldn't quite grasp. What an excellent observation!
Many thank's!👍 I now why I've only have vintage speaker's from the 70th and 80th in my room. Like your channel so much. Abo...Have a happy new year🍻 Cheers
Great video, that asks some serious questions about what the speaker industry and reviewers are playing at.
Teamed these up with a Yamaha as500 and regar planar 1. For £300 the performance, seperation and detail is beautiful.
he is so wrong about the elac 2.0 b,2 for me thay sound awesome
Thanks for another great passionate video! I'd be interested to hear what you think of the Chord Mojo DAC
great channel mate, just saying it like you see/hear it!, can you recommend old or new speakers to go with my yamaha dsp a2, which i've decided to get repaired, floorstanders preferred but not too bass heavy, for mostly metal, rock'n'roll etc, any help appreciated. currently have tannoy p30 & tannoy p10 speakers.
I've seen that Rega has recently come out with a new amplifier made in england for 370 pounds, do you think you could get your hands on one for a comparison with vintage stuff?
I know my question is a bit off topic, but what are your thoughts on the iFi Retro 50 system?
No One will ever send you any speakers or other audio equipment cos you are telling the truth .. Kelvin my humble request to you is “ please review the way you are reviewing since last year “
We have been caught up in Hype, created by those North American reviewers, bought something and turns out nothing but garbage. Yes you are spot on no one will buy £2000 amplifier for under £500 speakers that’s reality.
Your review means a lot for us at least for those people like me. All I can offer you is a “ Big Thank You 🙏 “
Happy New Year !! Kelvin
That’s great thanks everyone you know I just like doing this that’s the good thing
I had the MA Bronze 2 before I bought these which were quite bright and harsh and it got worse the harder you drove them but now I've just bought the Debut 6.2 and for my desktop near field listening I find them to be a good improvement. The base is tighter and less boomy, the high end is not as bright and is smoother overall more balanced for my listening situation. Oh and I removed the tweeter grills and it helped quite a lot for me. I'm sorry you didn't like them! Thanks for your honest review :)
i just got some Monitor Audio R352 a few months ago they seem good to me certainly lots of base
i paid 50£ so happy there as well
i will have to do a bit of tidying up on them but will enjoy that as well
thanks to this channel i have rediscover the hobby and brought myself a lot of pleasure on a very tight budget.
£50 that sounds good to me
Cheers K
i watch a few hifi channels and you are by far my favorite.
I've got a pair of these with a Marantz PM6007 amp, and a Cambridge Audio CXN network streamer. Couldn't be more pleased with the sound. It's all about how things work together, and what sort of sound you like. This guy clearly prefers the vintage sound it would seem to me, and it is cosy and entertaining, but these aren't the vintage sound, but they give me goosebumps with my current set up. They sound pretty dull with my cheaper amp. You have to pair carefully with them.
Does Marantz PM6007 produce enough power for elacs?
@@dalbajovababis At low volume more power would push a bit more detail in the sound, but at moderate volume the sound is open, tight, and detailed.
Kelvin, Great review. i feel the same way about Elac. they sound OK, but theirs no dynamics.
Have you got any TDL speakers? Great channel Thanks
was looking at these elac’s after what hifi etc saying they were the best for the money. struggling to find a good vintage speaker. i got offered jbl tlx60 for 100 quid. asthetics not as nice as the elacs or dali spektor 2. any other recomendations?
I did fall för the hype of Triangle Borea BR03. After 100 hrs of breakin they sound really nice. A hump in the mid bass give them a slight warmth. Very nice mids and forward sounding uppers. Can be reveailing of bad recordings.
Needs amp with good dampening factor in order to control the generous bass.
Did not pair well with Rega Brio. Got blooted in the mid bass and lost bass control on higher volyms.
I pair them with a Arcam fmj38.
Triangle Borea BR03 seems to do what the amp tells them to do. Maybe thats why many reviewers recomend rather neutral amps. Like Iotavx SA3.
I have the Elac Debut 6.2 's and I can confirm that they are a bit power hungry . I have mine connected to an Adcom GFA-555 (200 wpc) and they don't start to come "alive" until the volume knob hits the ten o'clock position . But all in all I consider these to be the best value speakers on the market and a home run for ELAC .
that’s gotta be normal for lower sensitivity speakers like these.
Ported speakers in my experience nearly always have that uneven bass response, you speak of. Do you think this is a speaker tuned to run on over bright /harsh lower end equipment?
Well I wish I knew my guess is that it was just designed on the computer and on that metric it looked good I don’t know it’s a mystery to me how the speakers are rated well
I've got the Elacs. I do like them, and disagree with a lot of what you said.
This is where it is important to listen to a speaker before you buy it. We're all going to enjoy something a little different.
Audition your speakers before you buy them. Go buy what you're going to enjoy. There are a lot of speakers in the same price range with different voicing.
how do i /yew get the wood ish looking ones ?
Hello Kelvin, I've recently got into vintage systems and have bought a pioneer sx 690. I also bought a pair of pioneer CS-353 speakers to go with it, however, they don't have a great sound on their own, they are very tinny with not a lot of warmth etc? I also have a pair of wharfedale Atlantic speakers which sound great and with all 4 speakers running it sounds really nice. What speakers, from the same era as the pioneer receiver would you recommend I use? I really love your videos and your descriptions etc are fantastic! Thanks Anton
Yes in general a lot of Japanese speakers weren’t very good.
I generally think British for speakers . And with that pioneer which has a big sound I just think you want big speakers big old Wharfdale Glendale big old Goodmans magnum ..celestion 44
It’s hard to detail this because a lot of vintage speakers weren’t that good don’t go into the mid60s they’re too old.
B and w dm3 maybe of Kefs like 104 ab. Or concerto (v big )
Ok thanks! I've been researching Celestion ditton 33 which I'm hearing good things about. The ditton 44 might be bit too big I think? What do you think? Thanks Anton
I returned those speakers. I had to crank the volume all the way up. They weren’t horrible they just didn’t do it for my type of music.
They definitely open up more with higher current
@@tomhamilton6377 How much current do you think would suffice?
Impressive review... I own these Elac debut 6.2 and was impressed on the sound stage quality... I know Andrew Jones history in speakers designs as he worked for numerous high end companies in the past and now with Elac numerous years now... These speakers were at the CES show several years back and really blown away a lot of people during its demonstration in Elac's booth room... I was lucky to get them at half price sale a few years ago... I heard many other bookshelf speakers 2 times it's price of these but these got my attention... I'm a sound engineer and know good sounds when I hear them...
I own them too. I agree with you.
@@bowiefan6652 Andrew Jones is a scientist when it come to speaker designs and builds...
Calvin expresses his personal views on these speaker which is great as not everyone has the same hearing. I have had mine since 2018 as I said before paid half of the retail price Best Buy was offering for a limited time for $150 a pair. They went fast in all stores here and I was lucky to get a pair. I love how the vocals sounds so natural and smooth and less fatigue on the ears when listening for hours. Nice highs and mids and bass not bad but when tuned in with a nice sub the sound comes alive.
I have the Elac B5 debut and after seeing all the pos reviews I thought I was going deaf as they just weren't doing it for me. I've gone back to using my Kef coda 7's with sansui AU-D101. Quite a good match for me.
So basically the Elac Debut are a good pair of speakers to compare against studio monitors and not Hi-Fi speakers? Sounds like a good choice for me. That's the kind of speakers I'm looking for to play around with passive speakers. I kind of expected it from how the Elac looks like considering they're front ported. The kind that you want for nearfield and not listening to them far back in the room.
I'm currently using Adam A7X. I also do recording and mixing stuff, so hi-fi audiophiles won't do it for me.
Have you had a chance to hear some Linn speakers? I prefer vintage speakers too but I heard Linn Majik 109 bookshelf speakers recently and they sounded very good, would be interested to hear your opinion!
The Linn Majik 109 are very well regarded across hi fi forums. However at the time of writing they are £950 in the UK ,I would love a pair.
The Elac Debut 6.2 are £299
The cheap audio man channel, a self confessed Elac fan rates the Debut 5.2 over them ( better balance
They retail at £279 however a few main Uk dealers are selling them for £209. Much more affordable to pair with budget amps .
Theres an A / B sound comparison on here between Q Acoustic 3030i & Debut . The Elac sounds much less compressed & natural to my ears 👍
Any experience with AE300 C or CK series standmounts from the early 2000s?
Afraid not
Kelvin,I don't doubt about your honesty when it comes to reviews that's why I subscribed your channel.Not sure somebody that buys speakers of this price is going to spend 2-3 time more on an amp because it goes beyond the common sense that speaker is the most important component in the setup. And it's out of this world the likelihood to be paired with amps that cost 2-3k A. AJones should have designed these speakers with the idea of shinning even when paired with cheap amps or receivers that is the most probable scenario in the real world these speakers will be setup.I have never had a personal experience with these Elacs but this puppies have been raved a lot by many reviews which is a bit baffling for me. The cabinet looks to me well braced and solid and the new livery is eye catchy. . AJones designed it polite in the low octave , play it safe in the mid register and measured with the highs or jack of all trades and master of none.
Brilliant review Kelvin .. high note finishing before 2020
I really understand. Couple of months during lock down, I took four MA R352 last manufactor run (I think) with the new metal tweeter, from my basement, that I had in store for 20 years. I put them to test against my modern speakers, connected them in quad stereo, and I can't go back, I love them. I forgot wow good they are, I don't think they are brilliant, there are much better speakers, but I just love the sound, can't explain.
What equipment are using, what size is you’re room?
I haven't heard these myself yet... other reviews are more favorable but are also noting them to be very "choice of amp" dependent to bring out the best in them. I think they lean more towards a studio monitor which can seem a bit "dry" or clinical (AKA detailed) as they lack the intentional sweetness built into many commercial offerings. I suspect they are a very temperamental speaker in terms of squeezing some magic out of them. Hope to hear them soon and know first hand.
Wow, great review. I watched a lot of reviews a couple of years ago and bought into the hype. After comparing to my vintage Boston Acoustics and JBL speakers. I returned them and wondered what the reviewers were hearing. Selling new speakers pays the bills I guess.
Yes you literally find yourself thinking am I Speaker is broken what’s going on what are these people talking about?
They’re talking about making money really, I guess
hi Kelvin, ever reviewed Heybrook HB2 speakers? i have used these for 40 years and still sound good to me, i have owned many other makes (Linn , Castle, MA, B&W)
but still like my Heybrooks. would like to experiment with some different ones as they wont last forever, tried modern speakers been disappointed.
I bought these speakers after seeing a lot of positive reviews and have heard to these for the last 1 month. Wow this is the most accurate review of these speakers which in my opinion is a very poor sounding speaker. I am really surprised with the great reviews of these the Internet is filled with. Great job Kelvin for a bold and very accurate review.
Thank you I appreciate your feedback
Hi Kelvin,
I really enjoy your reviews, the way you deliver your thoughts and your Mathmos lava bottles collection.
I am too a vintage gear fan but I believe we should be honest with its limitations.
My main speakers are JBL 4311b that deliver a lot of presence and enthousiasm with precision (pro monitors) but throw everything in your face.
Moreover, the cabinet build quality improved a lot when you compare 70’s low density fiber to modern mdf with bracings.
I bought these Elacs 2nd hand for my 8 years old son to offer him some decent vinyle experience in his bedroom.
I have to admit they perfectly do the job paired with a Denon PMA-1500R integrated amp and a fairly audiophile tweaked Technics 1210 MK2.
Like you said, they sound OK in every register and whole presentation but nothing is dull or boring nor excellent.
Every 40 years old 7’´ or brand new LP my son plays is satisfaying and detailled, not lacking a bass note and never harsh sounding.
Of course the amp was 1000 pounds or so at its launch but now can be had for the same price as the speakers.
I won’t recommend them for a grown man whose ears, sound tastes are well established and looks for a thrill but definitely for a young man starting to think about his audio journey.
I hope the things above make some sense as english is not my first language.
Keep doing your great job !
Best regards,
Marc - France
Thanks for the info Marc cheers from London
I’ve had a pair of these for almost 3 years. After extensive listening with several very good vintage amps (Pioneer exclusive M4 class A, Accuphase E-303, etc...) I think Kelvin has given a fair review from a music lover perspective. These are ok with music. They aren’t terrible on anything, but also not great. I too bored of them and preferred any of my vintage speakers for music. I think that someone that didn’t have a great speaker to compare with would probably be satisfied. My “problem” is having other great speakers that expose the Elac lack of greatness. In my opinion, they are better suited for a LR with equal duty for music and movies.
Appreciate the feedback my friend
Sir according to you what is your fav bookshelf speaker under $200?
Well an old one I’m literally not up on modern cheap speakers that much
@@stereoreviewx in future do u have any plan to review mordern speakers?
Oh yes I will any I can get my hands on I’ve got some lined up
Do you have a good playlist to test a system?
Well I have to go to songs that are use a lot and they are take it easy by the Eagles mostly for the human voice and bass characteristics
And also to high by Stevie Wonder for just multiple reasons it has a good spectrum of separation and instruments
Kelvin, another enjoyable and very informative review. I applaud you for it. I do however share others concern that your being “too” honest will result in being starved of product to review. Your channel is such a contrast to the usual fawning over the latest “new and different” releases from gushing content providers. Do hope you are able to navigate the supply issues and continue to provide a genuine perspective on new versus old.
Yes I probably won’t get hold of this new equipment certainly not for free
There is still tons of stuff I can review and talk about Cheers K
Honoust review , love it
new subber here after watching many of your videos recently. around 1985 I bought a pair of Wharfedale Denton 2XP from my mates dad, they sounded fantastic to a 15 year old me, sadly one of the tweeters was knackered, the speakers were well built with proper crossover inside with plenty of wadding. Do you ever take speakers apart to look at the insides? many of the woofer drivers now have plastic chassis, I dont often listen to hifi now but I have a technics amp and a pair of eltax floorstanders the ones with two woofers in.
Love the content I have a pair of these 6.2s they decent but no WOW factor but hook up to a decent amp they sound ok can't complaint 1/2 price off I'm good🤙🤙
My pair doesn't have the nice wood finish like yours but I only paid 150 bucks for them. Very happy with the sound and I use a sub with them sometimes. Not a big room and I listen to them near field.
Are early polk monitors available in the UK? They practically give them away here in the US (sometimes literally). They can be easily be had for under $100 USD. They sound fantastic, particularly the monitor 7 and 5 Jr. (the iterations with the peerless tweets). You should pick some up for a listen if you find them cheap.
Thanks mate I will keep my eyes open
Listening to this review on a pair of akai SW-157ii speakers from 1978. Picked them up for a song here in the states and know I'd have to pay quite a bit more for anything comparable new.
These are something I might try if got for cheap enough. They don't make bigish front ported bookshelf's as much anymore. I'm actually battling my JBL N28 vs JBL N28II right now. A new speaker you might try is the Sony SS-C55. I see em on amazon for like 80 AmericanBucks and they're very unusually well built. They work fine on a regualarish amp even though their 6oms. I've been itching to set them up and listen. I got to admit though, all the 80's speakers I've picked up from thrift stores have a certain fun that has never been matched in muh new school speakers.
Hey Kelvin, are they 300 pounds a pair? If it is, that's "nothing" in the hifi world. You can't expect a lot for that money.
Well I know but everyone keeps saying they’re great and that will mislead people
I LOVE YOUR HONESTY!
where are they built ?
Great review.
Thank you.
Please review the Klipsch RP-600M. I own these into a vintage Yamaha amp. Very happy.
What amplifier did you use to test out the Elac's?
Well multiple I think I said that in the video five different apps at least Quad elite 140 what’s name nap power amp 50 W per channel Sansui vintage amps are calm alpha
@@stereoreviewx Interesting. I have to agree. I found these speakers totally life-less and virtually un-listenable.
Had an orphaned vintage NHT VS-2a center speaker after selling off other HT components. Bought someone else's orphaned VS-2a and stood both on end on stands for a stereo pair every bit as delightful as the VT-2 towers minus the bass...added a sub. Bliss. Most of the early NHT towers had sats/centers that were essentially the top half of the tower in order to match. The SAME but without the woofer in the lower cabinet. Superone is top of Supertwo, VT-1C is the VT-1 etc. Great bargains on orphaned vintage NHT centers now. I have no desire whatever to go for something modern! Would recommend the ones with butyl rubber surrounds to be safe, which I believe most are except maybe the Superones.
Great review. 🍻
I wish I knew what your source material was. What amplifier, turntable etc. I have these and enjoy them quite a bit but I know they are a little power hungry. I did get them for under $200 US, so there’s that.
once you try something better you would easily understand what he is talking about. But on a budget, it's not easy to build a whole system that can reveal the limits of the one cheap component.
Thanks, sir!
As I know, that Elac Debut is popular as a kit, because they have a very poor filter and the box, so people have to upgrade it and they can play in a upper level.
The Elacs Ceos hair just turned white.
what he uses?
What HIFI 5 STAR REVIEW for ELAC B 6.2 . .....
I like your reviews Kelvin! Can you say something about the cheap jbl xe4 speakers, do you have any experience with them?
I have two pairs of these and they don't like my Parasound Zonemaster 2350 which is an ICE Power Class D amp. Huge fallout of the midrange. I had Andrew's Pioneers and they were also dull. I need to hookup my equalizer to the 2350. Yes, they lack a lot of "Life".
Elac DB62 is a bit picky in term of amp slection. Although rated 87 dB/6 Ohm, it is quite a bit power hungry. Not until I pair it with Parasound NC 2125 150 watts, 45 amp high current power amp, it finally comes alive. The other more gentle Cambridge 851N Integrated amp got a similar wattage but was not able to rock Elac. I recalled the other well-received reviewer iiwi said the similar thing.
Yes I mean similarly with theKEFLS 50s people tell me they need big power good amplification
Great honest opinion. Can you suggest me a pair of speakers, either vintage or modern, that can deliver on both male and female vocals?
Bowers and Wilkins DM fours
I had MA Silver RX-1s that did vocals really well, piano overtones really well but were too laid back, had a muddy mid bass hump and were not suitable for Rock. Some things well, some things not. But voices were nice.
Triangle Color series decent with voice tone but a bit sibilant at times. AMT tweeters give a different, live sound at times but there are issues with some of those speakers as well.
Most budget just don't cut it or give anything much above AV/home theater quality but a few do give you a taste of something done nice but not everything with something usually standing out in a negative way.
I've tried lots to replace my large Focals 807Ws (do alot very well) under a grand$US but if I want something at least as good or better I may have to spend alot more for something in a smaller box.
First negative review I`ve heard.Sound similar to old Kef`s from the early '70s, Good review.
Great speaker. Placement is a must.
The old 6.0 had stonking bass. It was toned down. The old 6.0 was a bit weak in treble. It was raised. So the 6.2 speaker is better balanced, and if you can make it sound good with better amps it can't be inherently bad, and what can you get today for €300?
But you are absolutely right about the "charm factor". If it doesn't do it for you it just doesn't, period. I just wish all reviewers were as open and honest as you are. :-)
Have a great year and thumbs up! :-) Cheers!
Happy New Year to you and appreciate your comments cheers K
I appreciate your honesty in your video however, I have to say, I do like the sound of the debut 5.2 speaker when it is teamed up with a sub.
I agree that if you run the speaker without a sub, the base response is lacking.
Nice review Kelvin. Yeahh..if you can find that Monitor Audio R252 in good condition, or similar speaker... Because it's years years ago.
Let's hear something,at least it's something. Better than only words😀..
I just purchased these front ported speakers mainly so I wouldn't hear the boom boom canon sound associated with the bass reflex speakers I use to enjoy as a younger person. And at low to mid volume, these speakers won't rattle the wall as to disturb my neighbors.
Matted to my Yamaha RX-496 receiver and CDC-675, the far off axis sound to my study room is perfect for background listening.
And what better way to confirm this by first listening to Sade's greatest hits.✔
Kelvin, do you have a group on Facebook?
No I don’t K
Out of cheap speakers I always come back to Tannoy Mercury F and V series, both bookshelf and floorstanders.
Me too
I subscribe to several audio related reviewers on TH-cam. With few exceptions each new piece of equipment seems to be light-years ahead of the previous one, and you will have to spend double or triple the money to get anything close. I agree that buying quality vintage loudspeakers is a better option, and you won’t lose 30% or more trying to unload the “next best thing”.
Kelvin when are u gonna listen to the Epos Es14 ?
As soon as Harry Potter supplies me some 😊
Don't trust that potter ...he's on crack ... Fact
Really love this channel, thanks for sharing your reviews - keep it up!
Hi Kelvin as always a really interesting video. Thanks for that. I would be willing to bet that those Elacs measure incredibly well. So I wonder why they dont sound so good. Maybe measurements are not the be all and end all.....ps... the reviews are mostly marketing..
Yes well one thing I’m sure of his things can measure really great and sound really not good I don’t think you can measure good sounding qualities
Please review Epos ES11 🙏🙏🙏
I have had B&W, Jamo, Focal and Epos bookshelf speakers. Most had their qualities. I’ve now got a pair of Quadral Aurum Galans speakers. They are from Germany and are in a different league. They were about £2000, so not cheap but I’d be so interested in hearing what you think. You could borrow them if you like.
The reason I offer is that according to youtube and certain magazines there’s only a small handful of speakers out there. This is so wrong. They are just the ones getting hyped.
Cheers
Great review Kelvin. I've watched your channel get better and better this year. Keep telling it like it is. Keep referencing the same well known songs because we can all relate those to our systems. Keep up the good work. All the best for 2021.
Thanks mate that’s good to know happy New Year to you
K
Seems like an honest review. I have these Elac 2.0 speakers and they have some issues. However if you upgrade them with a kit from GR Research they become a wonderful set of speakers.
Oh yeah I saw that episode
Interesting to hear from a consumer that it worked out good .
Did you remove the metal grill from the tweeter and do you remember that being a significant thing let me know if you can 😊 thanks
K
Do you think it worth $350.00 for the GR Research upgrade?
@@alexfalcao $350 that’s a lot that’s the same price as the speakers yeah now I don’t know what is in the upgrade but surely you could do internal damping quite cheaply and also taking the metal cover off the tweeter .maybe Robert Pollak can enlighten us
@@stereoreviewx Yes, I will remove the tweeter grill to see how it will sound. And I'm glad I bought the Fluance SX6 (actually I have 2 pairs), best $150.00 spent, they sound really good for the price and I feel that Vintage sound on them.
Could you make a review of some average Gale Monitor Gold. They are very widespread....
I think you might mean the ones that richer sounds sold after the real company Gail went bankrupt I don’t know them but
I can only guess and I would guess not good
PS it’s a guess cheers K
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I mean those. I was quite impressed when I heard those little monitors 3010 Series 30 I guess. But it was long time ago, perhaps they are just nothing extraordinary.
I just love when the base is stiff and rigid and kind of woody in spite of they are not so low and exact or perfect. That is how these Gales perform. Very rich midrange, poorer details, but that rigid base and superb midrange just do it. I hate boomy, airy base, and prefer closed, non ported cabinets.
Fairpoint Daniel do you know what you like that’s a big plus
Great review! I have them and also a pair of Paradigm Premier 200B and Dali Spektor 2. They are organized in order of joy. ELACs sounds like a "serious" Floorstanding speaker, due their great bass response. Not plenty of emotion, but really honest, for me. Paradigm cost 3 times more than ELAC´s and sound more refined on the highs, but do not have the great bass of the ELACs. And the Spektor 2 was "love at the first hearing". I do not have reasons to dismiss the ELAC. The Piradigm sound great and the Spektor 2 are perfect for a casual listening on a office room or on a small room. I use Sansui amplifiers and honest cables with them
P.S.: Uptdated because of Paradigm
Please review JBL Studio 530
The most important thing is that it makes music fun, whether that's the most accurate and detailed or not. Some speakers are very accurate, detailed, and, in spite of that, they are boring for some reason. But, there are others that may not have as good of a tonal balance or details, but it's just lively and fun to listen to, and that's what matters. I think a lot of it has to do with dynamics, imaging and soundstage. If a less accurate speaker has great dynamics, imaging and soundstaging, it's going to be more fun than one with more accurate tonal response and detail, but has flat and boring dynamics, imaging and soundstaging
Generally speaking I agree with what you’re getting out for sure personally I can’t stand Tony in accuracies
Compare the feelings you get in a live venue (specially aucustic) and compare what feelings your soundsystem are able to produce.
Frontal loob is more often than not, in the way of Enjoying Art, in most forms.
The MA R252 were my first pair of hi fi speakers 37 years ago. I liked the detail but always found the bass lacking. I always envied my friend who had Kef codas. I'm a bass freak though and now have Focal floorstsanders and a sub. I'm sure I paid about £200 for the R252's new.
sounds like the perfect monitoring speakers for mixing . Neutral.
Also the problem with opinions is that nobody has "reference-ears" so to speak.
Omg you are so wrong. I got a pair Today. These speakers are transparent , have lots of detail and just brings out the recording. Listening to Savannah Sunset and there was that electro beat and a Waters online rendition of Mother sounded very much like a pair of Studio monitors. Amp used was a demon pms 500ae a very poorly rated one with a Yamaha avr ex v657 as a preamp with optical from a google cast streamer (using Spotify). Can’t wait to get my hands on good stereo electronics to bring out more from these wonderful speakers. Other speakers I own are paradigm monitors , klipsch rf 35. Whaferdalle diamonds, axiom audio etc
Another great and honest review! Thank you Kelvin. I also tested these Elacs and they didn't do anything really good - you are so right. I also tested the highly recommended Dali Spector 2 - probably the worst sounding speakers I've ever heard - absolutely terrible! A lot of modern speakers don't sound good or right for me, even when they cost 1500,- Euro a pair.
Kelvin, can you say something about the Castle Trent or Trent II? A lot of people here in Germany say that they sound great. I never had the chance to listen to Castles.
Yes well certainly I’ve heard a couple of castles can’t remember which ones but they were good and my overall impression is they are well engineered things.
And I don’t think they go for too much money certainly not here in the UK which is good.
Watch out for any ones with foam surrounds though you know the phone rots but if there are rubber surrounds then you should be ok.
Curiously and after getting some castle speakers myself they seem a little bit of a bargain cheers K
@@stereoreviewx Thanks for the quick response! Yes, that's The same what they say here about the Castle speakers. You are right, foam is always a problem. The Castles Trent 2 I wanted to test (buy) have rubber. Have a great time with music!
Got an Elac debut 2.0 on sale for $100.00 off, it arrived yesterday, I will start to burn it in with a Sansui AU-5500, let's see how I like.
congrats n share your opinion later 👍
@@roquesoprano913 Right out of the box it sounds flat comparing to to the $150.00 SX6 Fluance. And It lacks that hi upper frequency. The fluance I need to set the treble on -6 on the Sansui AU-5500 the Elac I needed to set at +6 to get a more or less the same result. Bu it still braking in, I heard reviewers that said it needs around 20 hours to break in, so far it still on 2 hours of playing, let’s see.
@Stonnie Mikita Yes, the Fluance SX6 tweeters are very clear.
I picked these up, they are entry level at 350-400$ they sound great , way better then sound bar or cheap home theatre in box speakers ,
Please do a Sound Test, seems nowadays speakers are a scam
Nice one.
Kelvin you should try the heybrook hb1 from the 80s they're are great speakers
Those are quite special, especially the third series, which I believe came out after 1990. Not the ones with the two front ports which were completely different from the classic HB1s.
They were my 1st speaker back in the 80's ... wish i still had them ... BTW
Wilmslow Audio make a modern equivalent , look them up .
I agree 100% with your review. I bought these via mail order at the height of the pandemic without hearing them against my better judgement. I find them lacking. Paired with a receiver of equal quality, I must turn the volume up high to get any meaningful sound. For me, they take away from the music listening experience. It’s time to look for a better sounding bookshelf speaker.
Nice to hear your honest opinion Kevin .
Cheers K
Are you related to Billy Mitchell on Eastenders ?
Yeah he’s my bruvva he is annoying I have nailed his head to the coffee table
New to this channel, some great reviews ..
Ok I'm running for fun, onkyo 9010 cost eBay £120 Rotel cd 7 summat, cost £80 eBay and something new Maurdaunt M20 speakers £75 Amazon, the sound has to be heard to be believed .
Class cheap amp class second hand cd player and for my money the awesome M20 .You could throw the kitchen sink through these and they would not give a stuff .
I tried them through my audiolab 6000a and the level went up .
Great set of speakers on a budget, I recommend them 8/10
Kelvin really doesn't like these speakers.
If the Monitor Audio were bad enough, these are worse.
I don't doubt him.